3. Single Source
• Oh yes, the paintings. Georges de la Tour was
born in 1593 in the duchy of Lorraine in north-
eastern France.
• He travelled to Italy and Netherlands early in
his career, where he may have been
influenced by Caravaggio and Rembrandt.
6. • The glow of single source, practical, in-shot
candlelight sets his work apart from
Caravaggio, whose hard, directional lighting is
similar, but comes from out of frame.
7. • De la Tour was able to imagine and paint
scenes illuminated by one candle, one foot
from the subject: something that would take
more than another 300 years to photograph.
8. • He instinctively understood how the flame
was the brightest point in the frame, and
often covered the actual source of light with a
hand or arm to draw attention to faces and
expressions where needed.
